18 The Crumbling Castle of Lust. (Part 1)

In the heart of Kamoshida's castle, Ren led the group through its maze-like halls. The whole group was running as fast as they could while keeping in hiding, ambushing any stray knight that stood in their way. Anubis flew steadfastly by his side, pointing towards the fastest path to Kamoshida, her familiarity with the castle not changed by her new form.

As they made their way through, they heard the distant sound of battle in the distance. Exchanging glances momentarily, the group approached the sounds of battle while keeping as quiet as possible.

As the group drew close, they peeked through the halls only to see a strange anthropomorphic cat standing on two legs. Its head was cartoonishly large in comparison to the rest of its body. In fact, its head was the same size as its body. It almost resembled one of those mascots they would put up in cereal in order to drive up the sales among kids.

The strange cat-like creature was fighting against a group of knights that were surrounding it. The cat's agility was notable, darting and weaving through its assailants with remarkable dexterity, yet the odds were clearly not in its favor.

"Is that… a cat?" Ryuji's incredulity echoed the group's shared bewilderment as they observed the creature's frantic maneuvers.

"Whatever it is, it clearly isn't friends with Kamoshida." Shiho observed, her stance ready for combat.

Ren activated his third eye skill to look at the strange cat. However, he couldn't really tell much of anything. At the very least, he was sure that the cat wasn't a shadow like the knights attacking it.

"Should we help it? Ann asked as she saw the cat nearly dodge one of the blades.

"Looks like we are going to have to. It's coming our way. Everyone, get ready to ambush." Ren commanded as he saw the cat-like creature dash on all fours toward them.

As the cat unwittingly led the chase toward them, they all jumped out of hiding before calling upon their personas and launching a barrage of attacks, causing the guards to explode and reveal the shadows within. 

There were a few different forms among the group. There were four strange horses without a lower body, which seemed as if they were made out of kelp, a person with a bird face with wings accompanied by a human body, and, most bizarrely, a demon who sat on a toilet.

Noticing the sudden sounds of combat, the cat turned around to see the group behind him fighting against the knights before putting on a determined expression and running back toward the fight.

"Zorro!" the cat shouted.

With a burst of wind, a large figure wearing black armor and a disproportionally large upper body appeared behind the cat. His face was covered by a black, bandana-like mask, and he wore an exaggerated mustache. On his belt, a large Z was prominently featured. On the right hand of Zorro, he wielded a rapier that seemed small when held by his large hands, and with one swift movement, it attacked the bird-like human in front of him.

"A persona…" he whispered, astounded yet focused on the unfolding battle.

 "Anubis!" With Ren's command, Anubis majestically raised her scales, balancing a feather and a heart in a symbolic gesture of judgment. The scales tipped, favoring the feather, and from this imbalance, a radiant burst of holy light materialized, morphing into luminous blades that soared towards the spectral horses.

Ren, seizing the moment, advanced with his pistol drawn, unleashing a volley of bullets that danced towards their targets with deadly precision.

The horses, enraged and wounded, charged at Ren in retaliation. However, their momentum was abruptly halted as they collided with one another. Shiho, who had been looking out after Ren, had cast a timely Pulinpa on them to confuse them.

Capitalizing on their disarray, Ren called Anubis once more. The scales tipped anew towards the heart, unleashing a cascade of cursed fire that engulfed the horses. As the strange horses began to turn to dust, a shadow stretched from underneath Ren before the shadowy hand of Tartuffe emerged and grabbed at the face of the horse, taking their essence before retreating into the darkness beneath Ren's feet, lying in wait for its next opportunity.

At the same time, the strange cat summoned his persona before launching a gust of sharp winds toward the birdlike human. After receiving the hit, the shadow opened its mouth before it released a wave of noxious gas. The monster's claws gleamed with an ominous darkness as it reached to try to touch the cat. With agility befitting his feline nature, it dodged the lethal grasp, dispersing the gas with another gust.

"Cat, I have your back! Go all out!" Shiho's voice rang out, her Persona snapping its fingers to impose spectral shackles on the shadow, which slowed it down. Followed by another snap that covered the birdlike human in discomfort, which made it more susceptible to attacks.

"I am not a CAT! I am Morgana!" he protested with a mix of indignation and resolve, calling upon Zorro once more.

With one swift barrage of movements, Zorro stabbed his rapier repeatedly. Each trust pierced the weakened shadow until it collapsed onto the floor, bursting into dust just moments later.

In the tumult of battle, Ryuji summoned Captain Kidd, unleashing a storm of lightning at the toilet-bound demon. However, as if the demon's skin was made out of rubber, the lightning didn't seem to have much of an effect on him other than a slight grimace of pain.

The demon let out a large, condescending smirk. A wave of cold air emerged from him before a barrage of ice crystals shot toward Ann. The impact was brutal, hurling her back with a cry of pain. The moment the ice touched her skin, it felt like she had just been hit with liquid nitrogen, causing frost burns.

"Ann!" Shiho's concern echoed through the chaos, her Persona, Circe, responding with a burst of healing warmth towards Ann, mitigating the icy assault's cruel sting.

The demon, not yet satisfied, turned its malevolent grin towards Ryuji. With a flick, it unleashed a violent gust, hitting Ryuji. The moment the wind made contact, he felt a wave of pain from within him, staggering him.

Refusing to be subdued, Ann rose, her voice a mix of pain and defiance.

"Enough with this bullshit! Carmen!" Ann shouted angrily as she stood up from the ground before calling upon Carmen. The flames around her Persona ignited with renewed ferocity, hurling fireball after fireball at the demon. Each fiery impact elicited screams of agony from the creature, its resilience faltering under the relentless barrage.

Seizing the moment, Ryuji charged, armed not just with his Persona's might but with a metal pipe grasped tightly in his hands. 

"Take this, you bastard!" His battle cry was punctuated by the heavy swing of the pipe, Captain Kidd mirroring the assault with a spectral lunge. Their combined forces knocked the demon from its porcelain throne, sending it crashing to the ground.

Struggling to regain its footing, the demon looked up, only to be met with an onslaught of fire and the ominous click of Ryuji's shotgun. The air was filled with the sound of gunfire, the final note in their symphony of destruction. The demon, overwhelmed and outmatched, had no recourse as it was consumed by the flames and the echoing blasts, its threat extinguished as swiftly as it had emerged.

In the aftermath, they quickly regrouped as both Ann and Shiho bathed the team with the healing light in order to get them back into their top shape.

"Jesus, that effin' hurt!" Ryuji grumbled, his sentiment echoed by Ann's weary nod

"It's the shock of being struck at your Persona's weaknesses; it amplifies the pain. But you'll grow accustomed to it," Morgana explained, joining the group with an encouraging smile. "You all look like pretty capable persona users! You are all exactly what I have been looking for!"

"Of course, the freaking cat talks… Everything talks in here." Ryuji joked as he stretched to test if he had been healed fully.

"I am not a cat! Mind your words, blondie," Morgana retorted, his irritation palpable, only to be cut off by Shiho's inquisitive gaze.

"Morgana, right? Who… or well… what are you?" Shiho inquired, her curiosity evident as she peered closely at him.

Basking in the attention, Morgana offered a modest bow. 

"Ah, the lovely lady remembers my name! Your assistance in battle was crucial," he remarked, trying to be as charming as possible and earning a light chuckle from Shiho. "As for what I am… I am a human… Or I'm pretty sure I am." He added with a hesitant tone.

"You don't sound too sure." Ryuji jocked before being smacked in the back of the head by Ann.

Ren, scrutinizing Morgana with a thoughtful gaze, posed his own question.

"You said you were looking for persona users. Why is that?" As Ren got a closer look at the cat in front of him he could sense something was familiar about him, though he couldn't quite place it. 

"I have a slight case of amnesia, so I need help to get back to my memories and true form. The first thing I can remember is waking up in the castle and getting captured by the shadows around me. It was only thanks to the castle suddenly starting to collapse that I was able to escape from the jail."

Nodding his head in acknowledgment, Ren said.

"So you need help, but what can you offer in return?" Ren asked with narrowed eyes.

With a confident grin, Morgana responded, 

"My expertise lies in thievery and the intricacies of the Metaverse. If you are here, then you must also be searching for the treasure of the palace. Help me destroy this palace, and I will teach you all that you need. How does that sound?" 

The final piece of the puzzle had finally arrived. Someone who knew more than the vague notes he had. With a slight smirk, Ren answered.

"Welcome to the team."